A year of Fasting 5:2

I am coming up on my 1 year anniversary to starting 5:2 fasting.  For those of you unfamiliar with this idea, you eat normally 5 days a week and then 500-600 calories the other 2 days.  The 2 fasting days can not be consecutive, otherwise you can space them as needed.  I wanted to reflect on how this journey has been and share why I will be taking a break from this lifestyle for a bit.

Things started off very well.  I started gaining energy and really enjoyed the flexibility that not eating until dinner gave at first.  I was pretty quick to start losing weight as well.  The summer was a little hard since the family is around and we do lots of fun stuff, but I kept with it.  When September hit I was into a routine that was easy to keep with.  I quickly did discover that I could not fast on the days I played soccer.  So I moved my Monday fast to Tuesday, the day after I played.  For the remainder I generally did Tuesday and Friday fasts.  This worked well for me, except for the week of my period.

It started with being utterly exhausted in August.  I wrote it off as the back to school time and wacky scheduling.  But then I realized the timing of it.  So I changed and took out a fasting each month.  My energy level came back up and I continued on.  At the beginning of December I was down 15lbs, YAY!  I promptly gained 5lbs back due to holiday eating and cold weather, despite continuing the fasting. 

Unfortunately, I have only lost 2 of those pounds nearly 5 months later.  I have been working out and doing a lot more strength training.  As the weather gets nicer I am adding more walking and some distance running in.  And that is how I have been able to lose those 2lbs.  But I've also noticed I am getting very hungry, even on non-fasting days.  I am starting to wonder if I am eating enough overall, as I know that my body doesn't do "starvation mode" well and I can actually gain weight if not eating enough.  I haven't been counting calories at all.  But with my hard work outs 2x/week, soccer once a week, and 2 lighter work outs, I may need to increase the fuel.

I was so excited in February when I hit my 5th month in a row of 28 day cycles.  I thought I had found something that finally put my body back on track.  But I am not on my 3rd month of 29+ day cycles and waiting to find out the length this month.  My body is clearly unhappy about something going on. 

I am feeling fairly fit.  While I dread some of the difficult work out days, I feel good when the work out is done.  I cut off about 30 seconds from my 2 mile run this week.  And at the end of the 2 miles I didn't feel like I couldn't walk!  So these are definitely good things.  It means that at least the exercising I've been doing is agreeing with my body.  For a variation, I am going to try out a 30 day jump rope, kettle bell challenge.  Looks like it will be fun and a good way to get outside.

I was sleeping great.  I was able to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep all night.  But for the last several weeks I have had trouble both falling asleep and staying asleep.  Some of the research I've found says this is very common in females when they are getting enough food.  I guess our brains start to become hyper-aware so we can do a better job finding food.

I'm debating whether to finish up this month as it would just be 3 more fasting days or just to end now.  I skipped today because it should be time for my new cycle to start.  So I guess that will tell me.  If I have to skip Tuesday then my body really needs me to be eating again.  I'm not sure how I'm so starving today even though it's my third day in a row of regular eating.  I guess my body is just over this idea for now.

Thankful for my Jobs, PARCC update

We had a quiet afternoon yesterday, since none of the neighborhood kids were around for a change.  I cooked pizzas while Carolyn drew at the table.  James joined her for a while and then drifted to the couch.  He looked exhausted, but it was a little strange that he just curled up on the couch under blankets without anything to do.  I had a feeling he was getting sick.  So when he woke up this morning still feeling crummy I didn't hesitate to take his temperature.  But at 98.3, there was no fever so I put him on the bus.  Around 11 I had finished enough of my work to go for a run.  Just over halfway my phone rang and it was the school nurse.  James' fever was 100.5 so I needed to pick him up.

As I made my way home I felt terrible that he had to wait an extra 20 minutes for me to get him.  He probably was feeling terrible and because I was out for a run he had to wait longer.  But I had figured he made it long enough that he wasn't coming home.  When I got there to bring him home, the nurse relayed their earlier conversation.  Since this was the first time James came home from school, the nurse asked if he thought I would be home.  To that he replied "my mom is always home."  The nurse chuckled and said she thought I might sneak out occasionally.  How ironic I was out for a run at that time.

I brought James home and tucked him into bed.  He watched tv for a while as I ate lunch.  He asked for his lunch but didn't eat it.  Once he fell asleep I snuck out of the room to finish my work for the day.  And this is why I am so thankful for my job.  I was able over the next 3 hours to juggle getting work done while caring for James.  He got to sleep in our bed, take a bath, and then lay on me without anyone being stressed.  There were no arrangements to make and he didn't feel like a burden.  He knew that once that fever appeared, I would be there.  As frustrated as I've been with the crazy hours I've been working (30 this week), the flexibility I have is unmatched.

I love the extra snuggle time I get to have with both kids.  I am so thankful that I can make extra income to help our family without having to sacrifice the level of care the kids receive.  So the next time I start to think about working outside of the home again, I just need to come back to this post.  I will remember that God led me to these positions for a reason.  And until the kids are old enough to not want extra snuggles when they are sick, this is where I need to be.

As an update to my earlier post about refusing the PARCC, I am happy to report that so far the school has been wonderful.  During the practice tests, Carolyn has been allowed to simply read a book.  We plan to visit the public library over spring break next week to ensure she has enough to read during the testing windows the week after break.  Once the letter was delivered I didn't even hear back from anyone at the school.  So looks like we will have no issues.

For those interested, I also updated my other blog tonight as well.

Heartache for Local Families

I feel like we are constantly bombarded with ways to give and serve internationally.  Or when there is a big disaster, we're asked to give to help massive efforts for those displaced.  To apply for my new teaching certification in 2 new states, I had to get fingerprinted (again).  Since we live in the unincorporated part of town, this means I had to go to the Lake County Sheriff, located in Waukegan.  So I drove through parts of North Chicago and Waukegan to get there and get back.

As I drove through these towns, my heart just ached.  The number of run down buildings with boarded up windows was sad to see.  Many of these weren't even businesses, they were homes.  And my response is, who is helping these people?  In particular, who is helping these kids?  How do we expect these kids to make a better life for themselves if we don't do anything to help?  And how long are we going to ignore the needs of the people right around us to serve others thousands of miles away?

So I sat down this afternoon to find a place to start giving to.  It took me about 15 seconds to find a charity in Lake County that gives to places that serve these communities.  I likely need to spend some more time researching these charities to ensure a large percent of the donations go to actually help people.  But I've found that the smaller the organization (ie local,) the less administrative costs.  So I'm going to look at http://www.helpthemtohope.com/donors.html as a potential place for us to being donating regularly.

Those of you that go on big missions trips, that's awesome if that's what God has laid on your heart.  But for those that don't feel called to that, for those that don't feel they have funds to go on a big trip, what if you took the time to find a local charity?  What if you took $10-20/month and donated it locally?  Could you contribute more than that to give another family hope for the future?

My next step is to find places where we can volunteer regularly.  I know I have skills that could be a blessing to others in my background as a math and physics teacher.  In this season of thinking about the sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us, I am going to consider the sacrifice of time that I can contribute to help those that need it the most that are practically right in my backyard.  I challenge to find something to contribute to locally on a regular basis.

How to Make 1 Income Work

My goal here is not to feed into the debate of SAHM vs WM.  Every family needs to decide what is best for them.  But I do feel like there are a lot of women that wish they could stay at home but can't see how it could ever work.  Or may you are just getting married and thinking that when you have kids you would like to stay at home but can't imagine getting by on just 1 income.  Having lived it, I can tell that it is definitely possible.

What you have to decide is what sacrifices you are willing to make.  I've never been a Starbuck's person.  In fact, I hate the taste of coffee.  I've never been one to love eating out all the time, I prefer to know what's in my food.  I don't wear make-up as in high school my skin was super sensitive and I just never started doing it after that.  So these may be some areas to consider reducing your budget with.  We chose to cut back as much as possible.

One of the biggest things that helped us was the decision to take 1 year at a time.  We looked at our budget and our income when I got pregnant.  We knew that our house was purchased based on 1 income.  This is key if you are planning for the future as housing is going to be the biggest expense each month.  I tried to find some side jobs and as a former teaching was able to pick up some tutoring for extra money when the kids were tiny, but never worked much until they started school.

Once our first child was born, we said I would stay home for 1 year and then we would evaluate where we were financially.  Jon was only making around $40k/year before deductions at that point.  We had no car loans, but both had significant student loans.  But there were 2 major reasons why we decided to try me staying at home for a year.  First and foremost, it was what we both really wanted for our child.  We wanted one of us to be with her as much as possible.  It made sense for it to be me since I could then breastfeed, a huge savings for our budget.  Second, we looked at what I was making.  I was 25 when Carolyn was born and finishing my 3rd year of teaching.  I was making similar to Jon at around $40k.  By the time we considered paying for day care, gas, taxes, and work clothes expenses, the amount we would get to keep from my paycheck was pretty small.

So what did we give up?  We stopped going out to eat.  But who really enjoys going out to eat and wrestling a baby the whole time?  Once our contract ran out, we gave up cable.  We opted instead to use Redbox to rent movies, check them out from the library, or watch movies we already owned.  We shopped sales to reduce our grocery budget.  Along with meal planning, this made a large impact on our monthly expenses.  Jon packed lunch for work each day to keep our food expenses as low as possible.  Realistically, because we were quite young when our first child was born, we did not have an extravagant lifestyle so we didn't miss much of what we cut.  When it came to clothes, we graciously accepted all hand me downs available.  Especially when kids are tiny, they outgrow things so fast that most of what we received was nearly new.

Something nobody tells you when you're about to have a baby is that month to month, babies are cheap.  The first few years of life, when kids are most malleable, child care is most expensive, and you can have the most impact by staying home, that's when kids are the cheapest to stay at home with.  Babies don't need to take classes.  If you join a moms group, you can find playgroups to attend or park gatherings to get out of the house.  Going for a walk is good exercise and most little ones love it.  Once you've come out of the sleep-deprived coma of the first 2 months, you can even use your baby as a "weight" to combine bonding time and a work out routine.  Our kids loved it when would lift them over our chest (just not right after nursing).  The first 6 months there don't have to even be any additional food expenses.  If you breastfeed, that is all the baby needs.  And if you are home with the baby, you don't have to worry about pumping.  Our oldest had maybe 6 bottles while our youngest had none.  For the next 6 months, purchasing real food for the child to try is minimal.

My kids are now 6 and 8, our income has increased dramatically since those first few years.  One year we were less than $1k away from receiving the EIC on our taxes.  As the kids have grown, I have increased my work with 2 online companies.  Now that both kids are in school I find myself often working 5-6 hrs/day.  But because we've always done such a good job with our finances, my paycheck can fund all the things we gave up when the kids were tiny.  I love being home each day when the kids get home so they can just play.  And they would tell you the same thing.

So if you feel in your heart that you want to be home with your kids, know that you can make it work.  It might not always be easy and you will have to make some sacrifices, but you can make it work with some planning.  One thing when looking at your income to consider is how much less in taxes you will pay with an extra dependent and a significant reduction in income.  If you'd like ideas of things to cut, I'd love to help.  Start by writing down all your expenses for a couple months and I'm happy to take a look for you.

Parenting is Hard

This has been a bit of a different week.  We got our first real snowfall of the 2017, yay.  It is beautiful to look at while I am having my quiet time each morning.  And the kids are having a blast playing in the snow.  It helps that it's nice and warm.

Our front door is currently broken, so the kids have to ring the doorbell each day after school. Yesterday I went to answer it and one of our neighbors was with my kids.  Carolyn informed me he accidentally took the bus home and there was no one at his house.  I was a bit stunned and unsure what to do.  This boy is in second grade, it is March, and his first grade brother knew to stay at school.  I did not have a phone number to reach his parents.  Everyone came inside and I asked him if he had a phone number for either of his parents and he said no.  My kids worked on their after school routine as I tried to figure out what to do.  We've only been living here less than 3 months and we have interacted with this family only a few times.  After a little while I texted another number, who luckily had the mom's phone number.  I called only to get voice mail.  A few minutes later she called back and said she would be home in 30 minutes since she was at work.  Then she texted a few minutes later to say her husband would be home in 10 minutes.

While I sorted this out, I sent all the kids outside to play in the snow.  The boy did not have snowpants, so we dug out our extra pair we happen to have.  I sat down to fold some laundry, which happens to be just out of the line of sight of our swing set.  When I finished, I went to check on the kids and the neighbor was gone.  I asked my kids where he went, if he said what he was doing.  They boy said they didn't know and he hadn't said anything.  Then we saw the garage door open at his house and a car home.  But his backpack was still at our house and no one was anywhere to be found.  Carolyn and I took his stuff to him and the dad acted as if all of this was no big deal.  He informed me they have a key hidden in the backyard "in case something like this happens."  I informed him that his son did not know any phone numbers to call to get in touch with his parents.  He seemed surprised by this but not too concerned.  The mother later wrote of his going home, saying he's always been a bit of a wanderer.  Debriefing the whole situation last night I actually said to my husband "everyone does things their way, I'm glad we don't do it that way."

At floor hockey tonight I talked to a couple other moms with sons in the class.  One has a son in James' class and we're going to attempt a play date soon.  We all lamented how difficult it can be to stop siblings from fighting with each other.  They have a bit of a different experience with two boys that are 4 years apart compared with my kids.  Somewhere along the line I mentioned that we don't really watch tv other than sports and the one mom looked at my a bit stunned.  I talked a little about what I did when the kids were little and they seemed stressed just thinking about it.  But here's the thing, parenting is hard, and we all just choose what kind of hard we want to do.

I chose to have things really hard when the kids were little.  We stayed away from screens completely until Carolyn was about 3.  After that we slowly introduced some computer time and when sick we would let them watch some Curious George or other PBS shows.  I emphasized time at the park, we ran around in the basement, and we had lots of cuddle time to read books.  The kids cooked with me from a young age and I let them make messes with art supplies.  Most days were really exhausting, but I committed to limiting screen time because I knew in my gut it would pay off.  And honestly, I feel like we are already seeing the pay off.

In our house, we don't fight often about how much time the kids get playing Wii or PS4.  We don't often discuss what the kids would like to watch on tv.  There are no favorite shows because we just don't watch anything often enough.  Any behavior battles come from things seen at school or read about in books.  That seems to be much easier to combat.  Our kids are perfectly comfortable working a computer, chrome book, or iPad.  But they don't rely on these things to entertain them and that makes our house a happier place.  I got asked today how I get my kids to stay in their rooms until 7am on the weekends.  This was after I mentioned that they are in bed by 7:15pm most nights.  And honestly, I don't know why it works.  Perhaps because we started the rule from the time the kids were old enough to read their clocks.  Our kids need a lot of sleep, so we've always emphasized the importance of good rest.  I enjoy knowing that I'll get to stay in bed until 8 if we have nowhere to go.  I won't hear the tv blaring but I might hear a radio on after 7.  I might hear the kids playing together.  I might hear nothing because the kids have slept in or have chosen to stay in bed reading.  Or I might hear nothing because one or both kids are snuggled in with me to start the weekend off by relaxing.  That's just the way we've set things up.

Every house has to figure out what works best for them.  Once you figure out what works for you, try your best to be consistent.  Because, in the long run, that consistency is what your little one is craving.  Even when they resist, that resistance back from you is what they need.  Sure, some mornings I'm too tired to walk James back to his room so I let him come snuggled earlier, but then I usually get up later.  He knows that we value rest and he can count on us for snuggles when he needs to feel connected while resting.  Plus, I know he's growing up fast and these snuggle sessions will only last so much longer.  But I'll have shown him the importance of rest and hopefully, some day, that will help him to feel more peaceful.

For post 3 from my tough times blog, go here.

"Me Time" made me stressed out

We hear constant feedback as mothers about we should be sure to schedule "me time."  We're bombarded with how important it is to take time to do what we enjoy.  I feel for this idea, hook, line and sinker.  Settled into a new home and new community, with both kids in school full time, I thought I should have plenty of time each day to get my work done, keep the house running, do some small projects, exercise, and have time to read or just zone out each day.

Each day I would wake up, make the kids breakfast, put together their lunches, and get them out to the bus.  Then I sat down to my quiet time with God.  I have a few different journals to pray for my immediate family, a book I'm reading about praying more effectively, and I read a chapter from the Bible each day.  After about 45 minutes I'm ready to tackle the rest of the day.  I would check in on work email, delete personal emails (you know, the 9000 advertisements we get every day lest we actually need the discount once or twice a year), check our bank statement, then choose a job to work on.  This is where I started to fall into the mental block.  I only "need" to work about 3 hours each day to meet my self-imposed earnings for the month.  But with 2 jobs, I have been working closer to 5-6 hours each day.  I was losing all the time I thought I was entitled to.

And that's just the thing, what time am I entitled to?  Where did this notion come from?  We have amazing technology to help make so much of what we do more efficient.  But what are we doing with that extra time?  I have an addictive personality and I know it.  I have often tried to disguise this as putting my everything into anything I try.  And that is quite often the case.  But if I happen to open a computer game, this can be the end of the day for me.  Yet I can't quite bring myself to delete the games.

So this week I am trying a new mindset.  I am limiting my time on facebook, keeping the games closed, and making productive choices with my time.  Monday I went grocery shopping and didn't get all of my work done before the kids came home.  I was able to finish up before 8pm though so had an hour in the evening for myself.  I chose to talk some with Jon and read a book.  Much better than zoning out to a computer game.  Tuesday I switched the order of my jobs, completing the tasks that require the most focus first.  This proved to work well and although I didn't finish working until 30 minutes after the kids came home, they didn't even seem to notice.  They have become pretty self-sufficient with getting themselves a snack and unpacking their backpacks.  I chose to go for a 2 mile walk in between jobs since I can really only do this while the kids are at school.  I still had some work to do last night, but was done before the USWNT game was over.  This included a 45 minute conversation with my sister in the afternoon.

Speaking of that conversation, she convinced me to start writing again.  I have an alternate blog I am starting to put together where I'm going to write about all the tough moments I have been through since graduating from high school.  My hope is that some of the writing will help others facing seemingly insurmountable situations see how things will be okay in the end.  While the kids were at floor hockey I did some writing on my laptop.  I did some more writing before bed last night.

Today I did some writing while waiting for pages to load.  This probably made my work take longer, but I was having trouble making my brain stop.  I still managed to finish all my required work by noon and started in on the application process for my Utah and Alabama teaching certificates.  How is it that after over an hour I feel like I accomplished next to nothing?  Hopefully I will have more time in the next week to get everything sorted out before the fingerprint cards arrive.  I am hoping to have this all in the mail by spring break so I don't have to worry about it anymore.  The kids had an early release today, so I didn't end up with any extra time.  After they arrived home I spent some time cleaning in their toy room.  I put enough things away that they were able to finish before dinner.  I plan to really finish on Friday if I have some extra time.  But really, I only spent 15-20 minutes in there.  I sometimes need to just get over the mental block of tasks that seem so daunting.  If I just take the 15 minutes I have and use them productively, I can complete the seemingly endless list.  And reality is, you probably can to.  So what if the toy room didn't get finished today?  It is better than it was and I can continue in the right direction the next time I have a chance.

So for me, I am skipping the idea of "me time" because it just wrecks my day.  Instead, I'm focusing on productive time.  I will get my work done, enjoying the extra money to pay off our car super fast to open up our budget for fun vacations, upgrades to our home, and donations.  I'm going to enjoy my time I am so lucky to have with my family instead of stressing about how I don't have as much time as I would like.  We've set things up so our kids can have a relaxed childhood.  They get to come home every day and just play (after their 5-10 minute chores), and that's why I work from home.  We have been so amazingly blessed by God.  It's time to focus on the positive and how much we do have instead of how I wish things were.  I'm ready for the next adventure that God has for our family, as I'm sure it's a great one.

Whole 30 Day 26

I am fully in the home stretch now.  No more meals to plan even, as I will be done by the next grocery shopping day.  At that point I'll probably need to make some of the family favorites that were eliminated during this time.  Today was a pretty good day.  I got in some work this morning, started a batch of beef jerky, through in the laundry, and went to MOPs.  It was a fun meeting getting to listen how other moms are meeting this year's theme - celebrate lavishly, enjoy rest, and notice goodness.  I think I've been doing a pretty good job with these lately as well.  I have particularly made it a point to notice goodness in the last couple months.  I find myself pointing out flowers when I'm on walks with my kids.  And I am trying to just enjoy being with them.

This afternoon I had a quick lunch and then went for a walk.  After my first lap I ran into a neighbor.  She was taking her dog for a walk, so I went with her and we talked for a bit.  It was pretty nice to talk to someone I haven't seen in a bit due to the construction this fall and then the cold winter.  That's one of the nice things about Spring, it's brings everyone back outside again to see each other.  We're having a neighborhood Easter egg hunt next week which should be fun as well.  When the kids came home we played in the back yard for a bit.  I restrung the rebounder and they kicked/threw balls at it.  I sense it will get a lot of use this Spring/summer/fall, so long as we are sure to have some time at home.  We finished up the night at James' soccer, where he always has fun.  Next week is his last class though as we prepare to play AYSO and be outside again.

Breakfast - Eggs, spinach, orange
Lunch - Leftover casserole, banana
Dinner - Leftover chili, beer jerky, tea

Time to embrace some rest and go to bed.  Hoping the rain stays away tomorrow so we can enjoy some time playing.

Whole 30 Days 23-25

I am hanging tough.  This has been one busy week!  Tuesday night was Carolyn's first reconciliation.  It was an awesome service and the kids did so well.  My favorite part was the song they all sang together twice.  I could listen to little kids sings all day long I think.  The asst principal commented on Carolyn's leadership during the service as well, saying she was the first to start singing and the first to step into the aisle when they all needed to go up together.  It is so awesome to see the adults at her school recognizing her talents and abilities.  Both kids have crashed quickly the past 2 nights to make up for being up late on Tuesday.  Tuesday afternoon the weather was beautiful so I got to play ball with James in the yard while dinner cooked.  It's interesting to hear the things that wander through his head while playing catch.  He even started to learn some multiplication since he was asking about it.

Yesterday I went for another run and my ankle felt pretty good.  I skipped the brace since jogging is just a straight movement and I found my ankle felt better as I went.  I completed nearly 2 laps, jogging for 1 minute, walking for 1 minute for 10 minutes and then jogging for 1:15, walking for 0:45 for the next 10 minutes.  I felt pretty good afterwards, although I did ice when I got home.  Last night I had a MOPs steering meeting and beforehand I was lamenting how I was on day 24 and didn't feel like I saw any change in my body.  A couple people then said that they could see a change in my face.  So perhaps if I bother to put batteries in the scale when I reach day 30 I will notice a change in weight.  It was wonderful on Wednesday so I sent the kids outside to play ball while I finished dinner.  Before that they both helped chop vegetables for dinner.  It's so wonderful to see them helping more around the house.

Today was another good day.  I worked most of the morning, took a nice bath with the epsom salts, worked some more, and then went for a 2 lap walk.  It's nice to listen to KLOVE radio while I walk, streaming through my phone.  Tonight I played soccer and while my ankle is definitely sore now, I was able to play pretty much uninhibited.  I definitely need to keep running to get back in shape, but I think I'm pretty well beyond the injury stage, YAY!  I am definitely ready for a weekend with not much to do though.

Tuesday
Breakfast - Eggs fried in coconut oil, zucchini, fruit
Lunch - Leftover stir fry
Dinner - Lemon chicken, sweet potato "fries", cauliflower

Wednesday
Breakfast - Eggs, fruit
Lunch - Leftover chili
Dinner - Tex Mex Casserole (new recipe that was okay, but not a huge favorite, likely not worth the effort again)

Thursday
Breakfast - Eggs, fruit
Lunch - Leftover casserole
Snack - Banana, cashews
Dinner - Chicken spaghetti w/ zucchini noodles for me

Looking forward to a low key day.  Since I played soccer tonight I'm thinking I will not run tomorrow and instead walk and do some kettle bells.  I did some on Wednesday and got tired pretty fast.  Now time to crash and let my muscles recover.

Whole 30 Day 20

I am so close to completing 3 weeks.  And yet, I honestly still don't see any changes to my body.  My ankle has been feeling significantly better today, which is awesome.  It likely helps that I wore gym shoes instead of my winter crocs for the majority of the day.  I did a lot of walking, too.  At rest time my hamstring was really bothering me.  But as the day has progressed it hasn't been as bad.  Fingers crossed, I'm thinking I might even be able to play tomorrow.

We started off today making toy wagons at Home Depot.  If you have a store near you, check it out to see if they have the free kids workshops.  The kids get to learn to use a hammer and then decorate what they made.  We had not gone for about a year and both kids were excited to see that they could nearly do the entire project themselves (I just lined things up and they did the hammering.)

      

I had my first dress shopping experience with Carolyn today.  I was amazed that even though 7yo girls don't really have "body types," some of the dresses just looked silly on her.  She liked a couple of the dresses, but then put on the one she chose and her whole face lit up and she declared "I love this one."  We got to the check out to discover a stain on the front of the dress, but luckily there was another one that was just fine.  Taking her shopping made me think back to all the times I went shopping with my mom for special dresses.  I know it will get harder from here, but this was a lot of fun.  I have a very excited little girl now.  She even announced the purchase to the priest tonight while jumping up and down.  We will work on the veil for her over the next couple months.

After a busy day today, I am looking forward to relaxing tomorrow.  All we have is a basketball game for Carolyn.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the kids play with each other.

Breakfast - Eggs fried in coconut oil with salsa, beef jerky, strawberries, blueberries
Lunch - Banana, cashews, grapes
Dinner - Leftover chicken soup

Whole 30 Days 12-14

This has been a long but fun weekend.  I went to bed early Friday night to snuggle under the covers and read.  Friday was a great day where I had time to do some cleaning around the house which let us enjoy the warm weather even more.  The kids had a good afternoon playing with a balloon after their snack until we went to James' soccer.

Breakfast - Tea with lemon
Lunch - 3 eggs fried in coconut oil, leftover steak, orange
Dinner - leftover sauce with zucchini noodles
Snack - Banana

Saturday we spent the morning at the park. I was hopeful that my ankle was on the mend and was able to kick around with the kids for a little bit.  But as the morning went on I felt some twinges and quickly realized it wasn't as good as I thought.  Carolyn had an indoor soccer game and then we spent the afternoon at a winter carnival at the church where I attend MOPs.  The kids had a blast and we think we'll head back there for their egg hunt in a few weeks.  They'll actually hide the eggs so it should be more fun.  We then went to church and out for dinner before I headed out from my MOPs MNO.  I brought celery and guacamole there so I would have something to munch on.  It was a lot of fun to talk with other moms and just hang out.  It made me miss the moms' group I was a part of before we moved.  I hope that we'll start to make friends with some of the other parents at the kids' school and maybe start to hang out with some other families as our kids get older.

Breakfast - Omelet with avocado, green onion, cilantro, green pepper
Lunch - Apple with almond butter (ground in store, no additives), something else that I can't remember now
Dinner - Meatheads burger on lettuce with tomato, pickle, mushrooms, and mustard
Snack - celery with guacamole

Today was another awesome weather day and we spent nearly the whole morning at the park.  I played catch with Carolyn for a bit.  She can catch!  It was so awesome to be able to play catch and have her actually catching the ball in her mitt consistently.  The kids also took turns hitting and they're both getting pretty good and hitting a live ball.  This Spring should be a lot of fun for both of them.  After lunch we had quiet time and James and I both feel asleep.  Since I was up late last night and we spent the morning outside, it was what I needed.  My ankle has been really hurting for most of the day and I have had to wear the aircast.  So I decided to skip soccer tonight in hopes it'll be fully healed by next week.  It's a weird pain at the front of my ankle and rec soccer isn't worth taking any chances.

Breakfast - 3 eggs friend in coconut oil, bacon, orange
Lunch - 3 hardboiled eggs, celery with guacamole, apple
Dinner - Mahi, new recipe (that Carolyn asked for seconds on) with brocolli

Nearly 2 weeks into this I have to be honest and say I'm a little disappointed.  I don't feel like I've lost any weight or inches.  I don't feel like I have any more energy.  I was hoping to notice some sort of difference at this point.  But I am committed to keep going in hopes that at some point something in my body will reset.  I'm thinking I'm not seeing any major changes yet since I do typically eat pretty healthy and gave up wheat years ago.  We'll see where this takes me!

Whole 30 Day 11

Still going strong and my ankle is healing.  I made it all the way until 6pm before putting the air cast back on.  My ankle just started throbbing so I put the brace on to get me through dinner and bed time with the kids.  I did get in a 2 mile walk with my neighbor and stood for almost all of James' 45 minute basketball class, so that makes sense.  I'm still debating whether or not I will play soccer on Sunday.

Speaking of James' basketball class, the teacher is driving me crazy.  I'm not the only one and we have started talking to the park district supervisor, so I am not just complaining here.  This coach is trying to use running as a punishment with kindergartners.  And it's not even because they are doing something wrong.  Today they started with passing - 10 minutes late because there was a problem with one of the baskets and the coach left for 10 minutes.  If a kid dropped the ball, the entire class had to run.  There was no instruction given on proper passing or catching technique.  Then they moved on to shooting.  There were 8 kids there today and they stood in line watching each other shoot.  The coach made a big deal about how they needed to make the shots, but again gave little instruction on how to shoot.  The only direction was where to stand - which shouldn't matter since in basketball the goal should be to shoot from everywhere on the court.  Then they did laps.  A few of these involved the kids dribbling, which was excellent.  I am not one to think that 5-6 year olds need conditioning though.  Running a lap with the ball over your head isn't appropriate at this age.  Just running laps isn't needed either.  They finished with everyone lined up on the baseline and 1 kid at a time was chosen to shoot.  If the shot was missed, the whole class had to run.  I signed James up so he could learn how to play basketball - how to dribble, how to pass, how to shoot - not how to stand in a line or how to feel bad when he misses a shot.  I have informed the park district we will be cancelling our enrollment for next session if a new instructor is not found.  James has never complained about any activity I have put him in, but he actively doesn't want to go to this class.

Breakfast - 4 eggs fried in coconut oil, orange
Lunch - Leftover roast, green beans, potatoes
Dinner - Zucchini "noodles", Meat sauce (Kids and Jon had corn based pasta)  James enjoyed using the slicer to make my noodles though

I am really looking forward to tomorrow.  I have minimal work to do and nowhere I have to be.  I finally will have time to work on some things around here, maybe I'll find places for the things the kids got for Christmas!

Whole 30 Day 7

I made it a whole week, woohoo!    I have almost officially finished 7 days.  Just have to make it through tonight without eating anything off plan.  Today I have really wanted something sweet and I'm not sure why.  I am starting to miss honey in my tea.  I don't really like the taste of tea without it.  I am going to look for some other options of flavors this week though.

Today was a laid back day for the most part.  Spent the morning cleaning up a bit and then the kids built with their tinker toys for a while.  I got a little further on Carolyn's scarf while they were planning, which was nice.  then we did the first of our Spring planting!  I started the onions.  I am going to try putting seedlings in egg shells this year.  We certainly have enough of them and it is supposed to make them super easy to transport, plus adds some good nutrients into the soil as they decompose.  I also filled the pot I got for Christmas with soil and we planted some herbs and spices.  We'll see if we can get anything to grow.

This afternoon we went to Kids Science Lab and the kids had a blast.  We finished up at Carolyn's basketball game and then came home for dinner.  Both the kids helped prepare dinner tonight by slicing peppers for the stir fry.  They love helping, so I need to find more ways for them to be able to help prepare meals.  It's never too early for them to learn the skills they'll need to feed themselves as they get older!

Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to have the energy to play soccer at 9:15 tonight.  I will more than likely play the entire 40 minutes since we only have 1 sub.  So hopefully I can make it.

Breakfast: 4 eggs fried in coconut oil with salsa, blueberries
Lunch: Romaine lettuce, tomato, tuna, grapes
Dinner: Chicken stir fry (kids had this with rice) - chicken, onion, garlic, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, green/yellow/red peppers, carrots, zucchini

Ready to tackle week 2!  I think I might spend time looking over my Frugal Paleo book for new recipes to use in the coming weeks.

Whole 30 Day 6

Another awesome day with beautiful weather!  It was unseasonably warm today and we took nearly full advantage.  At 9:15 this morning, we got out the door to head to the park.  Of course, first we had to put air in the bike tires and raise James' seat.  Then we spent the morning at the park, playing soccer, playing basketball, and the kids poked around in a puddle for a while.  A couple of our neighbors met us there which was nice too.  At 11 we hurried home to change clothes and pack up for the rest of the day.  It was hard to pull the kids away from just playing with their friends.  But Carolyn had soccer at 11:45 and 12:30, then service buddies at the library at 2:30.  In between we had a picnic at the park and the kids played a bit.  James stayed at the park until 3:15.  It was so wonderful to be outside in the fresh air.  I am hoping this leads to great sleep tonight.  We finished the day with Carolyn singing in the children's choir for the 5pm mass tonight so bedtime is a bit late.  Fingers crossed!

Food was a little challenging for lunch today, so I chose just go on the lighter side.

Breakfast - 4 eggs fried in coconut oil, orange
Snack - Banana
Lunch - cashews, brazil nuts, 2 clementines
Dinner - pork chop, carrots dipped in guacamole

Almost completed a full week!  Tomorrow is a laid back day so staying on track should be pretty easy.  The first week of something new is supposed to be the hardest, right?  I did realize today that when it comes to playing with the kids, I am incredibly out of shape.  Carolyn is pretty fast on the basketball court so I need to get back to regular exercise so I can keep up.  Hopefully this change in diet will reset my body and I can lose weight will regaining some strength as the year goes on.

Whole 30 Day 4

I made it through another day.  I felt like I had lot of free time today.  Things didn't start out so great as I discovered at breakfast that the special tea I bought was the wrong stuff and it smells and tastes like coffee.  If you know me, you know I strongly dislike both.  So I guess this will become Jon's tea from now.  He's been stealing my plain green tea at night for a while anyway.  I'll have to look for something different when I head to the store next week.  With the weather warming up I don't really need it at the moment anyway.  I fit in all of my work before heading to the school.

At the school I was caught off guard by 2 things.  First, I usually help with math but today was handed a reading packet.  Um, okay, but that's definitely not my specialty.  We made it through.  While I was working with the kids the principal came in and acknowledged he had forgot to update me on the math things for Carolyn.  He assured me they were working on it and asked if I could stop by on my way out.  Last week was a 4 day week ending with an institute day and this week is a 4 day week.  I totally get how things get lost.  He was genuinely apologetic.  So when I was done tutoring, I stopped by.  Turns out, testing for Carolyn and another child in her class started just after we discussed doing so.  So as not to overwhelm, it has been broken into chunks and she wasn't even aware that she was being tested.  This is good and bad.  Carolyn tends to not even try when presented with a challenge.  She was told to leave things blank if she couldn't figure it out.  To my child that means "if you aren't sure of your answer, don't give one."  We'll see how the results turn out once they're done and determine what to do in the next couple months and then next year.  I love how wonderfully flexible the school is being.  And I think it's awesome that another child is benefiting from my relentless question asking.  We also talked about James a bit.  I relayed the experience of our conference last week, that did not go as well as I had hoped.  He agreed to speak with the teacher to see what we can do.  It will be interesting to see what happens here.  I mentioned that was a little surprised that James scored so well on his NU CTD tests, as he is just harder to get a good grasp on than Carolyn was at this age.  There's a little more immaturity from him and there's also a whole lot of boy that she's obviously missing.  I was surprised with the praise for James that the principal offered, saying that he wasn't surprised that he scored well.  This principal is very involved in the school and supervises recess multiple times a week.  If you know my kids, you know they are often drawn to adults and like to share a lot (earlier this week Carolyn shared about me being sick and the teacher signed her out for me - a little crazy.)  He commented that James is able to carry a conversation and discuss things much more in-depth than a kid his age.  I'm interested to see what the scores come back as.  And now I wonder what it would be like to be around a typically developing child on a regular basis.  Although, is any child really considered typical?  I think the water is really muddied here.  I am just so glad we found a place where the school wants to work with us to ensure that each child is challenged.  That's all I've really ever wanted - stretch their brains.

This afternoon I had a chance to go for a walk twice around our neighborhood and finished up James' scarf.  The kids each had their activities and then James and I came home.  After reading for a bit, he got ready for bed and we read another story.  He's really into this old Sesame Street Bedtime Stories book that is from my childhood.  All my favorite characters and wonderfully silly stores.  Big bird is not an ugly mud monster!  We finished before Jon and Carolyn arrived home so he asked to snuggle.  Snuggling turned into him clapping my hands and them a silly game.  I love listening to him laugh and I think I could do it all day.  I know moments like these will get fewer over the years and I really took a minute to cherish the time with him.  I'm looking forward to Carolyn being done with gymnastics so we can have more relaxed nights with her as well.

Breakfast - Egg "muffins" (bacon, green pepper, mushroom, egg), blueberries, banana, tea
Lunch - leftover mahi, carrots with guacamole
Dinner - Pulled pork, cauliflower

The cupcakes are almost gone and tomorrow I'll give the kids some more of my Valentines candy in their lunches.  I am looking forward to the warm weather we're supposed to have tomorrow and Saturday!

Whole 30 Day 3

Another pretty easy day.  I found myself feeling stuffed the majority of the day.  This is probably due to eating nothing on Monday.  I am making it a priority this year to enjoy my kids and take time to get them outside.  Since it was sunny, we went to the park this afternoon.  I spent time swinging on the swings with them.  I pretended to play on one of the zip line type things but I'm nowhere near strong enough.  I am tall enough to touch the ground though and the laughter from both the kids was wonderful.  I can't wait until the weather gets a bit warmer so we can go without being all bundled up.  I'm looking forward to spending large portions of the day at the park this summer playing on the structures as well as in the open fields with soccer, softball, and baseball things.

Breakfast: 3.5 eggs fried in coconut oil, orange, mushroom, a few raspberries (finished the kids' meals after they went to school)
Lunch (Late, after 1pm): Leftover mahi, broccoli
Dinner: Pepper steak (kids had this over rice)

As I was making dinner I discovered the can tomatoes had sugar in them.  What is with that?  Oh well, I'm doing the best I can here, right?  On the right rack at least!

Finding Balance

This post has been a long time coming.  I've formulated it in my head several times, but never have the time to sit down and write it.  I've battled as to whether anyone would even want to read it.  But today I'm taking a few minutes to get everything down.  Today marks the end of the 4th week that the kids of have been in school.  Where could the time have possibly gone I wonder.  But when I review my time sheets and discover I've been working 20 hour weeks, once I add in exercising, laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, and MOPs, it's not hard to figure out.  I am definitely looking forward to a slower pace once this month ends.

We have passed the 1 year anniversary of the tree landing on our roof.  Last night we had some bad storms and James and I definitely had trouble sleeping.  At one point he came into our room and climbed into bed and snuggled into my arms.  What's amazing is that I didn't even have to move, I was already laying in position for him to join me, as though God had orchestrated the whole thing.  We snuggled for a few minutes and then Jon took him back to his room.  We're moving forward though, and my trembling hands seem to shake a bit less with each storm.  Someday soon I also hope to be able to say that the repairs are fully completed.

I have been trying to take some more time for me this school year.  For the past 7 years I have really focused on the kids, squeezing in exercising, reading, and soccer if I could.  Now that they're older and in school all day, I have a bit more control over my time.  I've done a lot of research over the years about the best way to eat and the best way to exercise.  But honestly, nothing I've done ever seemed to work.  Lots of places seem to say that you should always lift heavy and running is unnecessary.  A person should be able to lose weight simply by walking and eating right, only lift once you have lost the weight.  That never quite sat right with me.  I have a lot of muscle mass from when I lifted in college.  If I start just walking, that muscle will likely turn to fat and then I have even more to lose.  And as much as I hate running, I want to be able to play soccer without worrying about conserving my energy.  Well, today I finished the C25K program.  In 30 minutes I only ran about 2.25 miles, but I did run the whole time and I ran somewhat quickly for 4.5 minutes of that.  Next week I'm starting the program over with a goal to pick up the pace throughout the entire thing.  I've also been lifting, but choose to do 8 reps in an attempt to focus on endurance rather than pure strength.  I was going to wait to post until Monday when I'll see how much weight I've lost.  But I don't really care about the number on the scale that much.  Today when I ran, I was able to pull my running pants over my stomach and it stayed the entire time.  Those of that are moms will understand how that is such great proof that something good is happening in my body.  So in case anyone is wondering, here's the program I've done for the last 3 weeks with the weights/reps from this week:

Mon: Week 9, Day 1 - Assisted pullups 3x8 - Bench 55, 60, 65; 8, 8, 15 - Leg lifts 11, 11, 13 - Press 45, 45, 50; 8, 8, 8 - Back Extensions 12, 12, 14
Tues: Walk ~2mi, Stretch 10 minutes
Wed: Week 9, Day 2 - Incline pullup 3x8 - Squat 60, 65, 70; 8, 8, 15 - Ball Tuck 10, 10, 14 - Hamstring Curls 16, 16, 24
Thurs: Walk ~2mi, Stretch 10 minutes
Fri: Week 9, Day 3 - Negatives 3x8 - Hang Clean 45, 55, 60; 8, 8, 12 - Pushup 9, 9, 11 - Bent Row 45, 55, 60; 8, 8, 12

The last set when lifting is always AMRAP/15 to help me determine how I should adjust the weight the next time.  I am still trying to determine where I should best be for bench and squat, but those have always been pretty strong for me.  It is nice to feel strong again without constantly being sore.  I was even able to work out today despite not sleeping great last night and having the beginning of a cold the last couple days.  I think the exercising is helping my body to fight off these germs.

Have a great weekend!  I hope to have more time to write in the coming weeks about everything else going on with our family.

Taking Less for Granted

One of the things that I have definitely learned from this fall is to cherish everything around me a bit more.  I am focusing on being more present with my family.  I am choosing what activities are most important and enjoying just being so much more.  After the stress of trying to control a 4 and 6 year old in a hotel for nearly 3 months, I find myself much calmer.  We have a lot less chaos around here and everyone seems to be a bit calmer.  I hope we can hold onto these feelings as we plunge back into life.

I have found myself a great deal more patient with the children.  Partially because I realize how hard it was for them to be out of the house and their neighborhood for so long.  And partially because I think this whole ordeal has made me more patient.  I am now focusing more on God and how to show His love to those around us.  Christmas is even going to look a bit different this year as we open our home to friends that don't have other family nearby.  I am really looking forward to a relaxed celebration where we can all visit and celebrate God's love.

So as much as I hated living in a hotel for 3 months and the time we seemed to have lost while there, we have gained so much from this experience.  I've always known that God works in mysterious ways and this is the most mysterious of all.  But I know God is in control and all is good.  I'm looking forward to 16 days to relax with my family starting Friday about 4pm.

Anyone that is looking for somewhere to be on Christmas, please let me know.  We're happy to have anyone join us as long as we know before we buy the food.

Wonderful Fall Days!

Not much new to report on the house.  The structural engineer didn't get the proposal in until Monday afternoon, so the permit wasn't requested until Tuesday morning.  This could potentially push us 3 days back due to when weekends fall.  We will receive a new update with new timeline tomorrow, hopefully with news that the permit has been received.  Looks like we'll be here until mid-November.  At this point I am hoping we can be home by Thanksgiving so I can cook the meal I usually do that weekend.  I would also like to do a thank you party for all of those that have been so supportive for us during this difficult time and that weekend would be perfect.  It's definitely out of our hands though.  Let's hope we're home before the first snowfall!

Last weekend we had an awesome time at Richardson's Pumpkin Farm in Spring Grove.  My dad was very generous and sent us a groupon so we just had to find the time to get up there.  With no Sunday school last week, we had the perfect opportunity for a relaxing morning followed by a wonderful afternoon of fun.  It actually felt like we were on vacation for the weekend.  Saturday was spent at a marionette show, the fire department open house, and in the pool.  The pumpkin farm was awesome, with everything we wanted to do included in the admission price.  We all loved the slides and enjoyed a wagon ride out into the pumpkin patch.  The wagon ride was a first for the kids and they loved it!  There were a bunch of other small activities for the kids as well and we enjoyed being able to take a deep breath and watch the kids be kids.  After the farm we used the last of our gift card to Cheesecake factory for dinner, courtesy of my sister.  We even spent a little extra and shared some cheesecake, the Godiva chocolate choice being naturally gluten free :-)  It was wonderful to relax as a family and not have to worry about any extra that we were spending as our expenses are definitely up these past 7 weeks!

Yesterday we had another wonderful fall day.  We started off at the library for a short parade and puppet show.  Then we headed to Accelerated center where the kids got to enjoy some sports stuff and their inflatables.  Both were quite tired after that.  But a last stop was the Glen for their trick or treating, where both kids filled their buckets while in costume.  The highlight for the parents were the free kids meal coupons - possibly choose one of them for lunch next Saturday.  Jon's parents then treated us to lunch/dinner before we came back for a relaxing evening.  We enjoyed the evening reception and Carolyn fit in a few chess games even.

All things considered, we're doing well.  Looks like another 3 weeks or so before we'll be home.  But everything is in God's hands and all will be done in His timing.  It is amazing the support we have received from those around us.  Thank you if you are reading this and have helped through time, money, or prayers.  I'm looking forward to the time I'll need to spend writing thank you notes when we get home.

Initial Estimate

Life has really been busy this week!  On Tuesday we received the initial estimate from the field adjuster... $25k worth of removal and replacement costs.  Of course, that's what I assume the R&R on the estimate means.  This is before the structural engineer checks anything out.  It appears that the floor and ceiling will be ripped out and replaced as expected.  The west wall of the living room, where the tree leaned into as it fell, will also be torn out and replaced.  I assume this is so that they can expect the wall for any damages.  There is some stuff on there about the siding, but I can't quite tell what they intend to do there.  Looks like a lot of work, especially as the roof reframing is listed at 32 hours alone!  And that I'm pretty sure is number 1 on the list of what needs to be done before we can move back home.  That will need to be done before the electric can be restored I assume and it's what needs to be done to ensure the structural integrity of that room.  I'm not sure what other things need to be done before we're home.

Tuesday afternoon I received a call from the contractor that will be overseeing the repairs, since we're using the people the insurance company suggests.  She said she would call back Wednesday morning to schedule someone to meet with me at the house so they can assess the damages and figure out as a contractor what needs to be done.  Alas, I received no phone call yesterday.  So it's looking like it'll be next week before they'll even get out to the house, which makes me think we won't be home by 9/30.  My real hope is still Halloween, and with all of these delays it seems that may be close to reality.

We had a wonderful dinner last night with a neighbor.  They have spent some time redoing their backyard and it is gorgeous!  The husband did all of the work and built a brick oven, in which he cooked pizza for us.  Jon is jealous that he missed this at conference night.  The kids had a wonderful time playing together and of course didn't want to leave.  I think that's the hardest thing... there's just not much time to play anymore.  When we add in all the extra time spent in the car, we remove all the short bits of time where the kids could play with friends during the week.  We're planning to go to the park near the house after school on Friday though.

All is well and God is in control.  Seeing the potential for severe storms on Saturday has me a little nervous.  But I know that's just how it will be for a while.  My mind knows it will all be fine, but my body gets nervous.

Ready for another full day - take Carolyn to school, get an oil change, do laundry, work, take Carolyn to gymnastics, then the ice cream social.  I'm sure we'll all fall asleep quickly tonight.

Focusing on the positive

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written in here.  Life just completely took over and I haven't had time to sit down and write.  Likely, I should of be doing a myriad of other things even right now.  I never did print off James' preschool for the week, but I think I at least have what we need for tomorrow!  And I signed up for an online physics course that I haven't even looked at yet.  We've had so many wonderful adventures in the last 8 months, let me see if I can sum them all up quickly.

Last Spring, once the ground finally thawed, Carolyn finished up her year of AYSO.  Her growth as a soccer player was awesome, along with the growth of her teammates.  We chose to pursue another route for soccer this school year so I am no longer her coach.  Carolyn played her first (and last) year of tball.  She really enjoyed it and can't wait to try softball next Spring.  James got to try tball as well, which he loved.  And it turns out that he has a great arm for such a peanut and can even hit a little coach pitch if the bat is small enough.  We celebrated birthdays for everyone in the family, sticking with family parties for at least one more year.  It was nice to see everyone and have low-key celebrations that focused on enjoying time together.

Once school ended we headed up to Blue Harbor for a few days and had a blast in the waterpark and at the beach.  The kids love it there, we'll see if we make it back next summer.  After that was the 4th of July and then Carolyn took her NU CTD classes and absolutely loved them.  Definitely a little weird to have my 6yo telling me about phalanges and telling stories about Nessie.  She did a bunch of projects and both teachers told how they loved the questions she asked.  After her classes ended, we piled into the car for Denver.  The drive was definitely long, but both kids did pretty well.  It was wonderful to see my grandfather and he did his best to stay awake when we were there.  For a 96yo he's doing pretty well and I am SO glad we decided to go.  Lots of great memories to last for a while, and of course I always know that this may have been our last visit with him (although we've been saying that for 5years it seems :-))  We came home and recharged for a few days before heading up to MN to visit my former department chair.  She has cabins in the middle of Superior National Forest and it was an experience.  We had intended to spend 2 days hiking and playing in the water.  Instead we spent 1 day driving to the ER to clear James of a concussion and then 1 day playing in the water.  The kids really enjoyed that one day though and it was nice to visit with Maggie.  She's really enjoying retirement and that's awesome to see.

Summer was basically over once we arrived home, with Jon heading back to work a few days later.  Both kids attended soccer camp and for the most part enjoyed it.  I got to walk each day while they were both at camp and James and I had some special time while Carolyn finished up each day.  Then we enjoyed another week of settling into activities before school started.  Carolyn is starting the team program for gymnastics, which is 2 afternoons each week.  She started first grade last week and was definitely exhausted by Friday afternoon.  But so far she is loving her teacher and kids in her class.  She has some of the more severely challenged students join her class for specials and on the first day helped one of the girls find a seat.  It's a great opportunity for her to work with others and use her gentle, loving spirit to encourage and include others.  We spent most of this weekend at a family wedding, which was beautiful.  We all had a wonderful time at the ceremony and reception and have spent the last 2 days recovering from staying up until about 11.  All ready to face a new week now though!

This week we don't quite get to settle into a regular routine since I have jury duty on Wednesday.  James is looking forward to some special time with Jon though while I'm gone.  And Jon is looking forward to being a part of activities like chess and soccer that he typical misses.  After this week we'll settle in for a bit though.  I can't wait to see the blessings God has in store for our family this school year.  Both kids continue to be very inquisitive and I am looking forward to helping them answer their questions.

My goal for this year is going to be to focus on the positive.  When I go for my walks (try for 3mi 4x/wk) I repeat a verse in my head as much as possible.  I don't know which one it is as it comes out of a song, but I just repeat to myself "Be still, and know that He is God."  Because really, that's all there is to it.  If I focus on getting things right with God and helping my children to focus on behaving through God's grace, we'll all be on the right path.  So while I can't be physically still most of the time, I am trying to focus on keeping my mind from racing by remembering that God is in control and everything is working towards the best outcome.
Ready for the next challenge, because I know that God is in control.